New Kids
by findingmymuse
Summary: Four years after MAX! The Flock are living in New Hampshire when mutants from the School show up at their new school. Who are they? And why do they resemble the Flock? Is this all a coincidence, or merely fate pushing the two groups together?
1. First Day Gitters

**I am not, nor will I ever be, James Patterson (unless of course I have a sex transplant and age about thirty years or so-which is more than unlikely). Just thought I'd get this out of the way because, you know, everyone expects hard core writers who've already been published to come on this site. *rolls eyes* ON WITH THE STORY! :)**

* * *

Chapter One

Max's POV

I laid back on my oversized bed, thinking about tomorrow. We would be starting a new school…again. In the beginning, right after we saved the world, the Flock and I registered in a new school every few months just to be on the safe side.

Now, we only switched schools when one of us got too close to a human and accidentally spilled the I-am-a-genetic-engineered-avian-American secret or, in this case, Iggy and the Gasman (who has tamed his 'gift' over the years and we now just call Greg) blew up the better part of the science lab.

Fang knocked on my door softly even though he was going to come in anyways. He spent almost every night in my room, talking and planning (and more often than not-making out). Sometimes we'd go for a midnight fly, aimlessly flying wherever we felt like going, and find that we had gone hundreds of miles without even realizing it.

Over the past four years, we've gotten out of the 'awkward friend' stage and were now 'engaged.' I know, me, Maximum Ride, engaged! Fang asked me to marry him the last time we went to my mom's house in Arizona.

If I had been paying more attention, I would have noticed that he and mom had been acting secretively that whole weekend. I guess I just chocked it up as being a Christmas surprise. Angel, Ella, and Nudge were in on it, helping him plan how to ask and giving tips on what not to do. Even all of their advice couldn't have made that night any more special for me though.

_FLASHBACK_

_It was Christmas Eve, the rest of the family was asleep, and when Fang snuck in my room and said he wanted to go for a fly, naturally I followed him. He led me to the old pond a few miles behind the Martinez house that was murky and a little bit gross. _

_Only the pond wasn't murky looking that night; Fang had installed twinkling white lights around the entire pond and had set up a table on the far side of it. The table was on the dock, its white tablecloth blowing in the breeze, and I gaped at how beautiful it looked. It reminded me of the time that Fang kissed me on the dock on our way to rescue my mom. _

"_What's all this?" I had asked him but he just blushed; an uncharacteristic thing for Fang. _

_We didn't even get to the dinner that my mom had made for us because as soon as I sat down in my seat, Fang pulled out the small velvet black box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. "Maximum Ride, will you marry me?" He asked, his voice seeming to ring in the silence. _

_I nodded, too stunned to respond. Suddenly, I had started sobbing, warm hot tears trickling down my cheeks as I rocked back and forth. Fang got off his knee and wrapped his arms around me and started apologizing. "I'm sorry, Max. I shouldn't have asked you." He whispered into my hair._

"_N-n-no." I sobbed happily. "I'm happy. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife, Fang. This is the best Christmas present ever." I said and kissed him on the cheek. I smiled when he did, glad that we both weren't nervous anymore. "Now…how about that ring?" _

_END FLASHBACK_

Fang crawled on my bed until he was laying next to me, his eyes staying focused on mine the whole time. I twirled the small gold band on my finger nervously. I wish that we didn't have to keep going to school considering Fang and I are eighteen, but he wants us to finish our senior year out (even if it is at a new school and in the second semester already).

We found everyone's actual birthdates at the School when we were taking it down three years ago and realized that Iggy wasn't as old as we thought he was and Fang was only three days younger than me.

Iggy, not yet seventeen, is a junior at our school with Nudge, now fifteen, who skipped two grades because she was too smart to be held back. It worked out great for them because they finally figured out that they were the perfect match for each other and they've been dating steadily for a little over seven months.

Angel tried to pull that same stunt, said that she could just use her mental abilities to stay ahead of the class if she was put in _my_ class, but I put a stop to that thought before she got too excited. Instead, we compromised and I let her skip one grade so she and Gazz-um Greg could be in the same class. They were in the sixth grade now.

"Worried about tomorrow?" Fang's lips asked against mine as he broke away from our kiss. "You know they'll be fine. The School and all the branches of Itex were destroyed, thanks to you, and we aren't in danger anymore."

"I know, I know." I mumbled into his chest. "I'm just worried about being new again. Plus this time I'm going as your fiancé instead of your sister or your girlfriend."

Fang let out a happy growl. "Say that again."

I smiled, Fang _loved _it when I said I was his fiancé or his future wife or anything that resembled belonging to him. It might sound like he was possessive of me but I feel the same way about him. As if the whole Sam-Lissa thing didn't teach us anything, at every new school we go to, there are loads of girls chasing after Fang and guys constantly flirting with me.

"What?" I asked 'innocently,' a coy smile on my lips. "Your sister? Your girlfriend?" Fang let out a frustrated grunt. "Oh, you mean your fiancé?"

I giggled against his chest as he started kissing my neck.


	2. Meet the Crew

Chapter Two

Gypsy's POV

I glanced at the Crew and smiled. They were all so excited about our first day of school today. We bought a house in the middle of the forest of New Hampshire a few weeks ago with money 'borrowed' from the School. (What can I say? Shadow has 'sticky fingers' and who am I to stop him when its necessary for our survival.)

We had been searching for the Flock since they destroyed the branch of the School that we had been created and experimented at. It had taken us months of searching newspaper articles, following Fang's Blog, and relying on my psychic ability to finally locate them but it will be all worth it to find other people like us.

Copper, my eight year old half brother, grinned a wolfish smile at me as he tried to steal the last bit of my raw steak. He had already finished his and part of Mumble's. Out of the Crew, he ate the most and Mumble ate the least. Its no wonder why they've become best friends.

"Hey there, Cop. No more for you!" I said with a husky laugh. Me and my brother were part wolf, not like Erasers but like actual wolves. We even have retractable tails and fuzzy ears along with a strong sense of smell and killer eyesight. We have the same golden tinted brown eyes and tan skin. The only thing that sets us apart is our hair color; mine is dark brown with natural blonde streaks in it that I think is ugly.

Copper shook his beautiful copper brown hair and laughed again. Even though he was the youngest Crew member and the only one that has yet to develop a power, he doesn't let that bother him. Besides, as the leader, I make sure that no one picks on my little brother (except me of course but hey no one is perfect).

He took off to his room and Mumble followed, like he always does. That just left me, Shadow, and Serenity at the kitchen table.

"Can I be excused?" Serenity asked, her long black hair falling in her face covering up one of her piercing black eyes. She grabbed the piece of hair and tucked it behind her ear with one of her olive tan colored hands.

That was the first sound I'd heard from her all morning.

Eleven years old, the second youngest Crew member, and only other female besides myself, she's made it clear that she doesn't think she fits in here. No matter how hard I try to make her feel connected, she always shoots it down.

She'd rather spend days in her room alone than out practicing her flying techniques with the other birdkids. Its such a shame too considering her dark as night wings are simply magnificent against the pale night sky.

Still, I had to try. "You sure you don't want to take a fly before we need to get ready for school." I asked. "I'm pretty sure Mumble and Shadow were talking about it at breakfast."

Serenity only gave me a headshake before rushing off to her room. I made like I was going to follow her but Shadow put his hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Let her be." He said in an authority voice. Even though I was the leader, Shadow was my second and command, my co-captain so to speak, and I rarely made a decision without consulting him first.

If you looked at him, you wouldn't guess that his name was Shadow; tall, pale, strawberry blonde spiky hair, and baby blue eyes that make him look like the poster child for some gossip magazine.

Even his personality doesn't scream 'Shadow.' He's always chipper (except when he's on one of his sarcastic rolls) and likes to be in the center of the action. You'd never catch him sitting on the sidelines or in a dark corner somewhere unless he was like fatally injured.

No, Shadow got his name the first time he went invisible, completely freaking out all of the scientists and causing me to just about die laughing in my cage. We had been about two years old at the time.

"But…" I said brilliantly and he just smiled a mischievous grin and bent down to kiss me lightly on the lips. Oops, did I forget to mention that we're a couple? Guess it slipped my mind. We were sixteen and 'in looooove' as Copper liked to taunt.

"Hey! Get a room!" Mumble, well, mumbled despite trying to yell. There was something wrong with his twelve year old brain that made him start to mumble whenever he got excited or angry or really just any strong emotion. We'd all learned to deal with it though so most of the time we knew what he was saying.

"You ready for a fly?" Shadow asked, heading towards the door with Mumble at his heals. The two were like night and day when you looked at them; Mumble was short by avian standards (even Serenity was taller than him) and he had mocha skin, frizzy black baby curls, and warm brown eyes.

"Hurry back! We've got to be at school in half an hour!" I yelled as they were running off the porch and leaping into the crisp, morning air.

Most of the time I love being different, but when Copper and I are stuck on the ground while the rest of my Crew can take to the air, it gets to me. Especially when we're on the road and I'm stuck driving a car so we can keep up. (Running is also an option, but it tires Copper too much for us to do it over long distances.)

All I know is that in less than an hour, we'll be face to face with the Flock.


	3. New Names

Chapter Three

Max's POV

"Hurry up!" I said, honking the horn of our new jeep. (Thank you Max Card.) Since we were officially settling down, my mom and most of the Flock thought it'd a good idea to get a stable car. Instead, we bought an oversized black jeep, dubbed 'Killer' by Iggy the first time I drove it off the side of the road and into a ditch, and a pink convertible that Angel and Nudge named 'Princess.' Not my choices by a long shot.

"Come on!" I yelled, honking the horn again. I've got to admit that I like the sound of the horn better on the jeep than the girly one that the convertible made. Nudge, on the other hand, about died when I told her that she could drive Princess to school.

Due to "special circumstances" that we told the school about, Nudge who is technically only fifteen, is allowed to drive and has actually gotten her license. Fang and I already got our licenses years ago because Jeb said it was 'illegal' and 'dangerous' to not have one. Iggy was more than a little bummed when he failed his drivers test three times and the state said that he isn't allowed to take it again for another year.

'Why are you guys even letting the blind guy take that test to begin with?' you might be wondering. Well, you might be surprised to hear that Iggy has his sight back. After a few years of waiting for his power to develop, he finally advanced enough to where he can see in black and white and still feel colors if he touches them.

The whole 'seeing completely in a white room' thing still works so we painted most of the house accordingly. The kitchen, living room, hallways, bathroom, and his room are all white as snow.

Nudge and Angel exited the house, skipping all the way to the convertible, and buckled in when I glanced at them over my shoulder. Iggy claimed shot gun in Princess because he A) can't see the color unless he touches it so he's not embarrassed, and B) he wanted to sit next to his girlfriend.

That left Fang and Greg in the jeep with me. I am so glad that Gazzy tamed his gift or else I would be making him walk regardless of the fact that the school is a mile away. There is only so much ventilation in the jeep when the cover is on.

Since Greg and Angel were going to be posing as twins and going to the middle school, we dropped them off first. A tall blonde lady met us in the office and had student helpers guide them to their first class.

"Angel and Greg Rider. Yes, splendid." The lady, Ms. Gertle, said as she ushered them out the door. "You will just love Jesse James Middle School, that I'm sure."

I spotted student helpers with three other students in the hallway. The helpers were pointing out classrooms to a dark skinned boy with frizzy black hair, an olive toned girl with pitch black hair, and a scruffy looking younger boy with copper brown hair.

I guess this was the prime day for new students.

When we got back into our cars, I started feeling nervous. What if someone started a fight or one of the teachers hated me? Both were things that had happened at our last school and I had been miserable.

"Its going to be fine, Max." Fang whispered as we stopped the jeep in front of the red brick building labeled 'Jesse James High School.' Not very original names when you live in the town Jesse James, but I thought it was cool. The name was actually what drew me to New Hampshire.

We hurried to the main office and told the balding man, who I assume was our new principle, our names. Since we were claiming to be all adopted kids of missionaries, I let everyone choose their own names. In retrospect, that probably wasn't a good idea.

"Nick Moody," Mr. Walker said as he handed Fang his schedule.

"Alexandra Leader." I took the papers hesitantly. I thought that Alex was a cute name. Besides, I knew if I went by Max then everyone would assume it was short for Maxine or that I was a guy when they were taking role. Both options made me mad.

"Jeffrey Explosion?" He asked skeptically and Iggy just nodded.

"Monique-Amanda-Danielle-Dalinda-Isabella-Elaine Nudge?" Mr. Walker said with a sigh. "Now I know you kids are messing with me."

Nudge looked like she had been slapped in the face. "My parents could only have one daughter so they wanted to give me the best name imaginable." She lied, looking like she was about to cry. "Most people just call me Maddie." She said through fake sniffles.

And the Oscar goes to…

"Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry." The receptionist, a short red headed woman that looked like she'd had a bunch of work done, Mrs. Walker, said. "You'll have to excuse my husband. He's a bit of a doubter."

"That's alright, miss." Nudge said and pretended to wipe at her eyes. "Its just hard when I think about my dead parents is all." She paused, trying to remember our 'missionary parents' names. "The Riders have been really good to us though so it makes it easier to cope." She reached for her schedule, a hint of a smirk on her face.

I always knew that Nudge liked soap operas for a reason. She could be an actress in no time.

A loud buzzing sound was heard overhead and the Flock jumped, tense and ready to take action. Mrs. Walker watched us with humorous eyes and commented, "that's only the first period bell. You'd better hurry before you guys are any later. Just show your schedules to your teachers and they'll admit you late today."

With that, we separated and walked down the halls and to our first period classes.


	4. First Glimpse & Confusion

Chapter Four

Gypsy's POV

We walked to the middle school so we could see Copper, Serenity, and Mumble off properly. Since there was no way that we could all pass as siblings, what with the wide variety of looks among us, we all had to choose new names and a good story as to how we were all related.

It goes roughly like this: me and Copper are our parent's birth children. Serenity is our half sister from when they were separated for a few years until mom finally forgave dad…thus resulting in Copper. Shadow and Mumble were adopted in the last couple of years because mom wanted to extend our little family when dad died.

"Conner Wolfe?" The blonde receptionist asked and I pointed to Copper. "Your student helper Jenny will lead you to your fourth grade classroom." She said as a teenaged girl took my little brother's hand.

"Sara Wolfe and Mark Feathers?" Ms. Gertle asked and Serenity and Mumble stepped forward. Since they were about the same age, we decided it'd be easier if they were in the same grade since neither of them has ever been very social with strangers.

"Two new sixth graders, how wonderful! Follow Lissa and Piper, okay kids?" The very peppy receptionist instructed as two other teenaged girls started heading down the hallway.

Mumble and Serenity took off after them, careful not to walk faster than the normal humans; 'that's my Crew.' I thought proudly.

"It's a shame that your mother had to work on their first day." Ms. Gertle commented and I just nodded. I had never been good with dealing with adults so I let Shadow do the talking.

"Oh, yes ma'm." He said sweetly and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. "Mum is a bit of a workaholic, bless her heart, but it puts food on the table." He said, throwing in a fake British accent.

Suddenly I had an image of him in Oliver Twist and I started laughing. Shadow shot me a glare and I quickly turned my laughter into a cough.

"You must forgive my sister." He said sweetly. "She has random coughing spouts that the doctors are baffled by." He shot me another glare. "Well, we really must be going. Have a nice day ma'm."

As soon as we were out the door, Shadow whacked me upside the head teasingly. "Do you know how close you were to making us seem like insane freaks on our first day?"

"Um…about this close?" I asked and held my fingers apart two inches, smiling hugely at him. He simply rolled his eyes at me.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Shadow asked and I turned to listen. I morphed one of my ears until it was slightly fuzzy, yet still covered by my dark brown hair, and listened in the direction he pointed.

"The Flock." I said with a laugh.

We hid behind the bike racks as they piled out of a bright pink convertible and a shiny black jeep. This was it! We finally had confirmation that the Flock was here. One thing startled me when my eyes roamed over the Flock; I thought I spotted Shadow among the tall birdkids.

They entered the building before I could get a better look and by that time, Shadow was pulling on my arm. "We need to go if we're going to make it to the High School before first bell."

I nodded, following behind him numbly, still confused by what I did or didn't see.

When we got to the red brick building, we had to ask around to find the office but finally we were there. A balding man was sitting at a computer, sulking, while a short redhead was at the front desk. You could tell that the age she was trying to look like wasn't her actual one.

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked, catching the woman's attention.

"Yes, Jeff was it?" 'Mrs. Walker', from what her nametag read, said.

"Um, no, its Shawn actually." Shadow said, as the woman glanced at him strangely. "Shawn Disaster."

He had picked that last name because of the countless hours spent burning anything edible in the kitchen. The boy was helpless when it came to cooking so that's why I usually provided for the Crew. Not that I minded, that just meant that he had dishes duty.

He pointed to me, continuing with his fake British accent. "And this is my sister GiGi Wolfe. We're new here. Our mum called a few days ago about us…" He added, as if that would ring any bells. In actuality, I had called both schools and set up the paper work since our 'mum' didn't exist.

"Oh, right. Sorry, my mistake, I coulda sworn…never mind." Mrs. Walker said distractedly and handed us our schedules. "You are both juniors, is that correct?" She asked and we nodded.

"Okay, well the first period bell rang a few minutes ago. Hand your schedules to the teacher and they'll excuse you." She recited and I almost chuckled at her nervousness. "Just don't make a habit out of being late because they won't be as tolerant tomorrow."

"Sure thing, ma'm." Shadow said and gave me a wink.

With that, we headed towards our first period class.


	5. Crossing Paths

Chapter Five

Gypsy's POV

I was bummed that Shadow and I didn't have the same first period class because that meant that I was stuck with a bunch of kids I didn't know. And I was late. Just peachy.

I walked into the classroom, not bothering to knock, and glanced at the startled teacher. Mr. Bruno, from what my schedule said, was the mathematics teacher. I had always loved numbers so when I was filling out the paperwork, I signed myself up for Pre-Calculus while Shadow only wanted to take Algebra II.

Mr. Bruno was a short man with an easily recognizable brown toupee. His plaid flannel shirt made me think of lumberjacks and pancakes and for a moment I was distracted.

"…I said, are you lost?" He asked, staring at me. The whole class started laughing and my face turned red.

"N-no. I'm new here." I said shakily. I handed Mr. Bruno my schedule and he read over it.

"Everything looks in order." He said, and handed it back to me. "Welcome to Pre-Cal, Miss Wolfe. Why don't you take a seat next to Miss Nudge, our other newest member, until I can find you all permanent seats."

Nudge? It couldn't possibly be…

I turned around and saw a girl who looked maybe a little younger than I am, but definitely taller than me, wave me over to the empty chair next to her. We were in the very last row.

Her skin was a little darker than Mumble's but she had the same smile, which I found weird. Did all black people look this much alike? **(Not meant as a racial thing-so please don't bug me about it) **Her brown hair looked like it had been straightened and her brown eyes were on hyper alert. She looked like she had eaten a big bowl of pure sugar for breakfast.

"Hi!" She said the second I sat down. "Wow, its so weird that you're new here today too. Its my first day. I'm so excited to be a junior 'cause that means that I'm almost out of high school, but I mean I just got here so why would I want to leave already?" She rambled on and I just nodded in agreement with whatever it was that she was saying.

"I'm Maddie, by the way." She said, sticking her hand out for me to shake. "Mr. Bruno has this weird thing about only calling people by their last names. Or so 'Mr. Lewis,' who's first name is Nathaniel, told me." She explained and pointed to a dorky looking boy about two seats over.

"I'm GiGi." I said, trying to get a word in with this motor mouth. "Maddie Nudge?" I asked skeptically. The name just didn't suit her.

"Yeah. Well actually its Monique-Amanda-Danielle-Dalinda-Isabella-Elaine Nudge." She said, glancing at the clock and biting her lip. I hadn't even noticed that the class was half over.

"But Maddie is the acronym for it. My real parents were weirdos. But that's okay 'cause I didn't really know them. I've lived with the Riders for as long as I can remember." She explained even though I could tell that she was lying. It was just a gut feeling that I got sometimes; different from my psychic power but just as useful.

"What class do you have next?" I asked, clearly comfortable with Maddie despite only knowing her an hour. Plus I had a sinking suspicion that she was the Nudge from the Flock so I figured it'd be useful to get on her good side.

"Oh, I've got Chemistry with Ms. Bennett. You?" She asked, strangely quiet. I guess she didn't feel the need to ramble on for once.

"Me too!" I exclaimed a little too loudly. Most of the students around us turned and shot us amused looks while Mr. Bruno glared. Oops.

Just then, a bell sounded overhead, saving me from apologizing, and we hurried out of class before we could get in any actual trouble. Maddie and I walked to Chemistry together, her talking most of the time.

I spotted Shadow at an empty lab table and lead Maddie in that direction. She lit up when she saw him and both of our grins were nearly identical.

"I see you've made a new friend." Shadow commented, eyeing me with a grin.

Instead of letting me answer, Maddie started talking. "I sure did. She's so funny and really smart. She's in my Pre-Cal class so of course she's got to be smart…" She rambled on and Shadow just chuckled.

"And you are?" He asked and I blinked. Was this some sort of game? I mean, seriously, this wasn't funny.

"Its me, GiGi." I said, my brow twisted in confusion. "How could you not remember me Shawn?" I asked and Maddie just stared at me.

"This is my boyfriend, Jeff." Maddie explained, still staring at me weirdly. "He's new here today too. I don't know who you're confusing him with but this is definitely not Shawn." She said and kissed his cheek just to prove her point.

Jeff? Didn't Mrs. Walker confuse Shadow with a Jeff? And didn't I see a Shadow duplicate walking with the Flock at the middle school?

My head started spinning and before I knew what was happening, my legs gave out and my head hit the ground. My last coherent thought before I passed out was 'Shadow has a twin in the Flock…and I'm staring right at him.'


	6. Found Out

Chapter Six

Max's POV

My first period passed in a blur. Fang and Iggy were in here with me but seeing as the class was P.E., I'm not surprised that they mixed grade levels. Iggy did come in late though so I'll have to kick his butt about that later.

What was weird was the fact that Iggy didn't say two words to either Fang or I. It was like he was avoiding us or something. But maybe he just felt bad about the whole 'not being with Nudge in class' thing. He's always been more moody whenever she's not around.

The other thing that felt strange was when the coach was complimenting everyone for their running speed (me and Fang were near the middle as not to show off-Iggy on the other hand had no problem with that and was at the front of the pack.) and he told Iggy, "Nice hustle, Disaster."

I asked Fang, but he wasn't sure what Iggy had decided on as his last name. I could have sworn it was Explosion though.

Second period was boring until I got a note from my new friend Caleb that said Nudge, I mean Maddie, was in the nurse's office. Apparently, one of her new friends had passed out when she saw Iggy. I know that might not seem like a big deal but I panicked.

I asked for the bathroom pass but instead of heading towards the stalls, I went in the other direction, towards the nurse's office.

When I got there, Iggy and Nudge were leaning against the wall and a tanned, brown haired girl was laying on a small cot with her eyes closed. A young woman with a white nurse's outfit on was pressing a cooling pack to the girl's forehead. When she spotted me, I went to stand by Nudge.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, shooting Nudge a glare. Of all the things that could happen on our first day, this was definitely not one of the things I was expecting.

"She's in shock, I think." The nurse replied. "She'll come around in a few minutes. Do you guys mind watching her while I go to the restroom, since you seem to want to stay anyway?" She asked and headed towards the stalls.

"What happened?" I hissed and Iggy got defensive of Nudge.

"Nothing!" Nudge wailed. "I met her in first period and we hit it off 'cause Jeff was in English so I had no one to talk to. But she got all weird when she saw Jeff and kept calling him Shawn. I told her his name was Jeff 'cause that was the cover story right? And then she just passed out!"

"Wait, did you say that Jeff had English first period?" I asked and Iggy and Nudge both nodded. Now it was my turn to turn pale.

"Why? What does it matter where I was?" Iggy asked, not seeing the problem.

"Because. You were in P.E. with me and Nick." I said and their faces paled as well.

"You don't think it's a clone do you?" Nudge asked, eyeing her friend's unmoving body. "Like Max II was?"

I shook my head, but really how would we know or not?

"Not a clone, Max…" A female voice spoke up from behind us and I gasped, terrified that she knew my name.

We turned around to face the voice. It came from Nudge's friend who was sitting upright, staring intently at us.

"What do you mean? And how would you know? You work for the School? Are you following us, GiGi?" Nudge asked, throwing out questions as fast as she could think them.

"I must admit that we were following you guys but I don't work for the School, though I was created there." GiGi stated, shocking us again. "And I think the reason you guys are so confused is about the realization I came to before I passed out." "And what would that be?" I sneered, suddenly defensive.

"Shawn and Jeff are twins." She said ominously.

"Who is Shawn?" I asked before I heard Iggy reply from behind me, "I am. Gypsy, care to explain?"

When I turned back around, I gasped again. There, standing side by side were two Iggy's. They had the same pale skin and spiky strawberry blonde hair and were both unbelievably tall. They were even both wearing faded green shirts and jeans.

It was remarkable.

The only slight difference would be their eyes. The Flock's Iggy had baby blue eyes that were still slightly clouded over from when he was blind while the new Iggy had perfectly clear baby blue eyes.

"Shadow, meet part of the Flock." GiGi or Gypsy said, gesturing to all of us. "Max, my new friend Nudge, and last but not least, your brother Iggy."

Looking at the two of them looking at each other was like looking at a mirrored image of our Flock member. 'How could this be possible?' I thought as both of the boys' jaws dropped at the same time.

"Its trippy, isn't it?" Gypsy asked and Nudge nodded.

"How did you know who we were?" I asked Gypsy, trying to get back to business. "You said you were following us, why?" I demanded and new Iggy laughed.

"Told you she'd want answers." He said smugly and the girl just rolled her eyes.

"We're like you." She started off and I nodded, not really willing to argue with her on this one. "We were from the School that you were, only we weren't as 'successful' as the Flock. I mean, don't get me wrong, we're not screw-ups, but we apparently didn't have what it took to save the world so when Dr. Batchler disappeared with you all, we stayed behind."

"You came back though, four years later and started causing trouble again." Shadow said, taking over where Gypsy had left off. "We didn't know that I had any relation but we knew that the scientists feared you guys would start freeing the experiments, so we started preparing.

"At long last, the little blonde girl found us and led us out the back exit. You all were busy helping other experiments escape that I guess you never noticed us. Then the whole building exploded and well, we've been on the move ever since; trying to track you down."

"But why?" I asked and he just looked at our Iggy.

"Because we knew we were connected." He said with a chuckle. "Although, this wasn't what we had in mind…we just wanted to be around freaks like ourselves."

"Does that mean you have wings then?" Nudge asked, keeping it short for once.

"We'll have to show you all that we can do," Gypsy said and pointed at the intercom, "but right now we have to get to class." As soon as she said that, the warning bell sounded.

"What the…?" Iggy asked and his twin chuckled.

"Some other time." Shadow commented. "Some other time."


	7. Similarities

Chapter Seven

Gypsy's POV

Shadow and I met Fang, Max, Nudge, and Iggy in the parking lot since the Crew didn't have a car and we were planning on having a formal meeting once we all picked up the rest of our families.

"Do you mind if we catch a ride to the middle school?" Shadow asked, stepping up while I took time to marvel at the hot pink convertible. I think Nudge saw me drooling because she let me have shotgun. Shadow and his twin sat in the backseat. If I didn't know my boyfriend like the back of my hand, I would have had trouble choosing which one was Shadow.

When the cars pulled up in front of the Middle School, I could see a blonde pair sitting next to Mumble, Serenity, and Copper on a bench. The rest of the school looked deserted and I wondered how long they had been waiting.

The blonde girl, clearly younger than the boy, couldn't be anyone other than Angel. She had wide blue eyes that looked innocent even though I could see the hidden mischief in them. She spotted Max and skipped to her.

"You'll never guess who my new friends are!" She said, pointing at my Crew members. "They came from the School too. But I'm not supposed to know. Sara and Mark had every class with me and Greg. Their little brother Conner is so cute! He's eight but he acts younger, like a lost little puppy."

I stepped out of the convertible and motioned for the Crew to assemble. They all joined me and I explained quickly that this was indeed _the _Flock that we had been searching for.

Copper was the only one who seemed enthusiastic, what with Serenity hardly ever talking and Mumble getting tongue tied when he was excited so he just mumbled about it being cool.

"We're headed back to their house since they don't completely trust us." I explained then laughed when I saw Shadow and Iggy both tilt their heads to the side, listening to our conversation. The twins were so cute how they subconsciously did everything the same.

In the end, Iggy, Nudge, Serenity, Shadow got in the convertible. Fang, Max, Greg, Copper, and I were in the black jeep since it was more roomy.

Mumble and Angel decided to fly back because Angel said there was something important that she had to discus with him alone. I think in truth she just had a crush on the twelve year old.

By the time the cars pulled into the driveway, Angel and Mumble were already sitting in the kitchen, scooping out ice cream in eleven bowls. Mmm, Rocky Road, my favorite.

We went through six cartons of ice cream before Max started asking questions.

"What are your names?" She asked, starting with the easiest questions. "How old are you? Do you all have wings? Any powers?"

I pointed to each member as I said their name. "Copper is my eight year old little brother. We can both retract our tails and ears. Part wolf and all that. I'm a psychic but Copper can't do anything."

"Way to make me feel good." He muttered sarcastically and shot me a grin to let me know he didn't have any hard feelings.

"Serenity is eleven and has black wings. She can put anyone to sleep as her power. Hence the name, 'cause it means peaceful disposition." I said, pointing at her. Fang was standing behind her and I gasped. They had identical black hair, blackish eyes, and olive skin tone. I can't believe there were so many siblings among us. "And apparently, she's Fang's sister." I added and the two of them looked at each other.

I continued anyways. "This is Mumble. He's twelve, has tawny wings, and can heal."

"Hey!" Nudge interrupted. "He looks like me, like not as much as Iggy and his twin do but kinda like Serenity and Fang do. You know 'cause we aren't twins plus we have different genders. I mean, it'd be weird if we looked identical 'cause I don't look like a boy but…"

"and I don't look like a girl…" Mumble added quietly, his eyes showing the excitement that his voice didn't project. "Its nice to have a sister though." He added thoughtfully.

"And we already know that Shadow and Iggy are twins and sixteen." I finished. "Shadow earned his name because he can turn invisible."

"Just like Fang." Greg added. "The invisible thing."

"It seems we've got a lot of catching up to do, bro." Iggy said and gestured for Shadow to follow him. Siblings started pairing off; Fang and Serenity ('cause I bet their conversations would be so long), Mumble and Nudge, Iggy and Shadow.

Greg ushered Angel and Copper up to his room, claiming he had a sparkler that they'd like to see.

That just left me and Max alone in the living room; leader to leader. *insert dramatic gulp* Here goes nothing…


	8. Vision, Mumbling, & Basketball

**AN: Various Points of View so don't freak when you see it 'cause someone always does. It is just going to help explain all of the Flock/Crew conversations better. **

Chapter Eight

Gypsy's POV

Max stared at me for a solid three minutes before she finally spoke. Neither of us had broken eye contact the entire time and I was grateful when she blinked as she spoke. I don't know how much longer I could have kept up our little staring contest.

"Why did you guys want to find us?" Max asked, clearly not buying our 'we just wanted to be with other misfits' thing. "And remember, I took down the School and Itex, so I don't fight fair."

I gulped. "Well, that part was true. We really did want to find you. You don't know how appreciative we are for you guys freeing us…even if Angel was the only one who knew about it."

"Go on." Max ushered me, sensing my hesitation.

"But…well, I'm psychic remember?" I asked and she nodded, eye roll included. "I had a vision a few months ago about you guys. Fang…he's supposed to die."

Max recoiled when I said this. I had already noticed that they were more than just best friends, and judging by the band on her hand, they were serious.

"It…its not true." Max said stubbornly and I didn't want to argue with her. When the time came, now at least she would have already gotten some time to prepare for it and it wouldn't catch her off guard.

"But…but how?" She asked a minute later. "He doesn't…expire does he?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what that means. All I know is that he dies."

"Were there…numbers on the back of his neck, in this vision you had?" She asked and I nodded. Somehow, his tattoo didn't seem like the best thing for me to inform her about.

Max's POV

Fang was going to expire. I couldn't believe it. Well, I mean I could, considering all the crap the School put us through, but I couldn't accept it. Gypsy had to be mistaken.

"What makes you so sure that this is true?" I asked.

I mean, I had just met this girl today. Why should I believe a word she says. So what if some of the Crew members looked like the Flock. That didn't mean anything. The School was always pulling tricks on us, toying with our emotions; They could have sent them on this fake mission thing before we destroyed Them and they didn't know that.

"My visions have never been wrong…" She paused, sorrow on her features.

* * *

Nudge's POV

"I was super excited to find out that you are my brother. I mean, just look at us. We look like a Christmas card with our family resemblance thing!" I said happily to Mumble as I dragged him to my room. I still couldn't get over the fact that I had a brother.

'My very own brother.' I thought as I started to brush my hair. It got tangled if I didn't brush it three times a day.

"I mean, it would have been cool to get a sister like Fang did, but I don't mind having another brother." I said, setting my brush down and looking at Mumble. "Plus, this time, you are like my flesh and blood so you can't be mean to me like Iggy and Gazzy sometimes are. Fang is always nice though, you'll like him a lot. He doesn't care that I'm loud and stuff. Though, Iggy is my boyfriend now so I don't know if I can still consider him a brother, you know?"

"I…I think so. I wouldn't count him as a brother 'cause he might get mad." Mumble said quietly. I was starting to understand how he got his name.

"Can you not talk louder?" I asked, genuinely curious. He blushed and I giggled. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Mum. I just wanted to know."

"I get excited and then I can't make the words come out quick enough and then I have to repeat myself a bunch. Its easier to just say it quieter to begin with." He said hurriedly and I could tell that he was telling the truth. He was tripping over his words every few seconds.

"That's okay. I had trouble with my words too when I was little. Though, I was eight and you are twelve when it happened." I said, trying to reassure him that it was normal.

"I grew out of it and now my family wishes that I hadn't." I said with a laugh. "I'm sure you will too. Besides, if you don't, well then I'll still love you because you are my little brother and that's what we do for family. We love them despite their faults and grow to love that even more than their successes."

Mumble's POV

Man this girl talked a lot. But I could tell that she was as excited to be my sister as I was about having a sibling of my very own.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Crew, but there has always been a hole. I would get jealous of Copper whenever Gypsy would kiss his forehead or tuck him in. Sure, she did those things for me too 'cause that's the leader she is, but I could tell that what the two of them had was special.

Nudge was amazing, the best sister I could have imagined. She didn't even seem to mind that I would start mumbling halfway through a sentence and had to repeat things a lot. I could get used to having her around. Especially if she could help me work on my talking problem.

* * *

Iggy's POV

"Is it weird being blind?" Shadow asked. We were outside in the front yard shooting hoops.

"I'm not blind anymore, I just can't see colors unless I'm surrounded by white." I corrected and he shook his head.

I shot the basketball and watched it swish in the basket. Shadow shot me a fake glare and added another tally to our scoreboard. Needless to say, he was a sore loser.

Shadow took his turn at shooting next and the ball hit the back rim and bounced back towards us.

I whistled lowly. "Seriously, how can we come from the same gene pool?" I teased. "Seems like I got all the talents; cooking, basketball, whistling…."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rub it in why don't you." Shadow teased back. "But I got all the good looks."

"You do have one thing over me though," I said and he looked at me, his black-and-white features curious.

"Yeah, what's that?" He asked.

"You didn't have to live with Max growing up. Talk about a real buzz kill." I replied, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

Shadow laughed, a sound so identical to mine that I thought that Gazzy had been imitating me, and commented, "lets get back to the game."

"What does that make you, a HORSEEEEEE?" I asked, referring to the game we were playing. (HORSE-for those of you who don't know)

He laughed again and tossed me the ball. "Not quite, bro."

* * *

**The rest of the conversations will be in the next chapter. Review :)**


	9. Embarrassment & Bonding Time

Chapter Nine

Copper's POV

Greg and Angel led me up the stairs to his room. He had a stash of sparklers hidden under his bed that he swore us not to tell Max about. I wasn't so much worried about her as I was about Gypsy finding out. She hated anything 'dangerous' unless it was used for self defense. And there was no way I could pass this off as self defense.

"So, what is it like to have a tail?" Greg asked excitedly and I shifted in my seat. I didn't like when people pointed out that I wasn't like everybody else. But I guess nobody does.

Sure Gypsy had a tail and furry ears too but she didn't find it a disadvantage. I, on the other hand, hated not having wings like everybody else did.

Angel slapped his arm. "You're embarrassing him, Gaz." She said and I shook my head.

"Nah, its okay." I said and tried my best to explain what it was like. "I have the best hearing in the Crew, other than Gypsy but that's only because her ears are more developed. And the tail is kinda cool, though the others almost always make me hide it so I never really get to use it."

"Does it just disappear?" Greg asked. "Does it hurt when you hide it?"

"Nah, it doesn't hurt, it just feels like I'm missing a part of myself." I explained. "And it doesn't disappear exactly, it just retracts into my body like my ears do. I'm not sure where the stuff goes though."

Angel looked like she was concentrating hard and I asked Greg what that was all about.

"She's probably just talking to someone in her mind, she does that a lot." He responded before pulling out a lighter that he had been fishing around for in his backpack for.

"Lets light these babies up!" He exclaimed and I marveled at the colorful sparklers.

* * *

Fang's POV

"So…" I said, trying to start a conversation with Serenity. We had been sitting in my room for the last half hour and she had yet to speak. "How 'bout that weather?"

"Sunny." She replied sarcastically, almost too low for me to hear.

"Ah! She speaks!" I teased, remembering the millions of times Max had said the same thing about me.

Serenity gave a small smile and went back to staring at the wall. Yup, there was no doubting that she was my sister, half or not. She had the same black hair and eyes and skin tone, but that wasn't what confirmed it.

It was the way she stared off into space, with that tiny hint of mischief in her eye and a barely noticeable smirk on her face. It was the way she could have a whole conversation with just the twitch of her lips of a flicker in her eye. That feat took years for Max to learn from me.

_Try to see if you can get her to go flying. _Angel said in my head, interrupting my own thoughts.

_Why? _I replied back. _You think she'll talk more if we're in the air?_

_No. From what I've gathered from everyone else, Serenity doesn't fly hardly at all because she doesn't feel included…so maybe if her brother goes with her, she'll see that its not something to be afraid of. _Angel added the last part quietly.

_Wait, she's afraid of flying? _I asked, dumbfounded. A winged creature afraid of flying? Was that even possible?

_She only does it when she needs to because she isn't that strong of a flyer and the heights scare her. Besides, like I said before, she doesn't feel included with Copper and Shadow. _Angel explained.

_I'll give it a try, but I can't promise anything. I only now got her to talk and it was one word. _I said, still confused about the scared bird thing.

_Remind you of anyone? _Angel teased as I felt her presence leave my mind.

Serenity's POV

"You wanna get out of here?" Fang asked, startling me from my thoughts.

"Where to?" I asked, tired of one word responses. (What? That one was two words.)

"I don't know. We could go for a fly or something, stretch our wings a bit." Fang said, eyeing me carefully. Great, someone told him that I didn't get out much.

I shook my head, too ashamed to admit that I was afraid of heights to my big brother. Hmm, the words sounded weird in my head.

"You sure?" He asked again, moving to the windowsill and opening the double hung windows. "We'll be back before anyone misses us…besides, I want to take a fly with my sister."

My ears perked up. His sister? He really thought of me as his sister? Even though there was a seven year age gap and most normal older brothers wouldn't want to be caught dead with their eleven year old sisters, Fang did.

"I guess I _could _go after all," I said and a fractional grin lit his face. "but only a short fly around the block."

Fang climbed out on the roof and helped me crawl out the window when I started to come out after him. We both extended our identical black wings at the same time and I full out smiled. His expression matched mine though and I couldn't help but laugh. This was too weird.

"On the count of three; one two three." Fang said and leapt into the air.

When I didn't join him, he coasted back down to the roof. "You can do it, Serenity. There is nothing to be afraid of…I'm here."

He reached for my hand and suddenly I wasn't as nervous anymore. I knew that my brother wouldn't let anything happen to me. We took to the sky and I let out a carefree laugh that the whole neighborhood probably heard.

* * *

**Aw. Cute Fang/Serenity moment :)**


End file.
